The Occoneechee/Orange Speedway in Hillsborough is the only surviving dirt track from NASCAR's first season.
Stock car legends like Richard Petty and Junior Johnson ran more than 30 races on the mile-long loop from 1949 to 1968 when a group of clergy pressured local government to outlaw Sunday racing. A new exhibit at the Orange County Historical Museum traces the history of the speedway and the recent restoration efforts that have brought it back to life.
Image: MARCH 10, 1963: Junior Johnson poses with actress Jayne Mansfield after winning the NASCAR Cup race at Orange Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
Host Frank Stasio talks with Brandie Fields, executive director of the Orange County Historical Museum; Gene Hobby, a former NASCAR driver and president of the Historic Speedway Group; and Bill Crowther, a historic preservationist who manages the Occoneechee Speedway property.
